Aloka Foundation is a non-profit organisation incorporated in 2002 under the Companies Act,1965 to establish and operate retreat centres and carry out activities to promote educational, humanitarian and spiritual activities for the well being and happiness of all Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, creed, and belief.

Aloka Foundation’s initial project was the establishment of Alokarama, an eco-holistic retreat centre located on a 22-acre orchard near Asahan in Tampin district at the south-eastern corner of in Negeri Sembilan and bordering the state of Johore and Malacca. Since its completion on 2006, Alokarama has been the host venue for many healthy mind and body weekend retreats and workshops.

Other Aloka Foundation projects that have brought a multitude of benefits to many include :-
~ ALERT (Aloka Emergency Readiness Team) which is focused on preparing the community physically, psychologically, and spiritually in facing and managing crises,
~ Green Thumbs that promotes planting of herbs and the greater awareness of their medicinal value as well as the cultivation of vegetables and crops to sustain and nourish
~ Good Heart that is dedicated to compassionate care in providing assistance and spiritual support to elders and friends
~ Education which focuses on holistic education to develop peace loving, well rounded and confident individuals.

Spritual Advisor
Venerable Mahinda

Venerable Mahinda, who founded Aloka Foundation, is also the Spiritual Director of the Foundation.
Born in 1949 to a Chinese Peranakan family in Malacca, Venerable Mahinda was ordained

in 1976 under the tutelage of the late Venerable Dr K Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Thera.He undertook basic Buddhist studies and training in Sri Lanka and practical Buddhist meditation under several masters in Sri Lanka, India, Burma and Thailand. He has travelled to more than 30 countries to spread the peace message of the Buddha.

Since 1976, Venerable Mahinda has been conducting the annual Novitiate Programme at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur every year for 32 years. In 2007, he began conducting the annual Novitiate Programmes in the Buddha’s holy sites in India/Nepal. The first Aloka Noviate was organised in Lumbini in November/December 2007 followed by Bodhgaya in 2008, Sarnath in 2009 and this year, it will be held in Kushinara and extended to Sravasti before ending in Lumbini, Nepal.

In addition to Novitiate Programmes, Venerable Mahinda, assisted by Sister Sumitra, has also been conducting meditation retreats in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Alokarama in Tampin District, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

Venerable Mahinda is also Spiritual Advisor to the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia (BMSM) and several other Buddhist organisations in East and West Malaysia.

Vision

To kindle the light of wisdom in individuals to walk the Noble Path and be of service for the welfare and happiness of the many.

Guiding Principles

The principles guiding the work of the Aloka Foundation are:

Loving Kindness (Metta)

wishing that all, without exception, may experience happiness and find the causes of this happiness

Compassion (Karuna)

wishing that all, without exception, may be free from suffering and the causes of suffering

Altruistic Joy (Mudita)

rejoicing in the happiness and virtues of all and wishing all will continue to be happy and enjoy more happiness

Equanimity (Upekkha)

embracing the good, bad, loved, unloved, pleasant and unpleasant; being impartial to all

Reverence (Garavo ca)

feeling of esteem or respect for one or entity or specific actions, conduct, qualities

Humility (Nivato ca)

being modest, reverential, and never being arrogant, or contemptuous

Contentment (Santutthi ca)

experiencing satisfaction and being at ease in one's situation

Gratitude (Katannuta)

having positive emotion of appreciation in acknowledgement of a benefit